A PLANT believed to be 'extinct' in Cumbria has been discovered by a keen amateur botanist on a patch of limestone close to Kendal.

The rare Narrow Leaved Red Hemp Nettle was found by Peter Shaw of Baildon, near Shipley, in Yorkshire, while he was on a visit to record plants in South Lakeland.

Many years ago this was a fairly common plant and found throughout lowland England, Wales and eastern Scotland.

But with changes in land use its numbers have declined to the point where it is now a great rarity. It is mainly found now in central southern England.

The 1998 Flora of Cumbria regarded it as 'extremely rare' and in the 2015 Rare Plant Register of Cumbria it is cited as being "nationally scarce and critically endangered" and "may well now be extinct in Cumbria."

"I was exceedingly pleased to find it but it was fortuitous because I was looking looking for other plants," said Mr Shaw. "When I could not put a name to it I thought it was going to be interested."

At first Mr Shaw jotted down all the characteristics of the plant and two days later returned to record it on film. He would not say where the plant could be found but said that he was worried about it being accidentally damaged.

"The plant is quite small, the most robust specimen I saw was only eight inches tall and was growing in a very fragile environment where it could easily be accidentally damaged," said Mr Shaw. "There was a small colony of 34 plants, ten of them flowering."

He added: "I hope that this group of plants will be able to set seed and prosper, thereby maintaining a population into the future."

Neil Harnott, senior conservation officer at Cumbria Wildlife Trust, described it as a "very exciting" find.

He said that records show that there was a small patch of the plant below Whitbarrow Scar, near Witherslack, from 1966 to circa 1970, which was eliminated by limestone removal. The records also show that there were colonies of the plant at Arnside Knott, Hale Moss, Brigsteer and the last time the plant was seen was back in 1992 at Beetham.

"This will be one of the best finds in Cumbria for a while," said Mr Harnott.

The plant occurs on roadsides, tracks, waste ground, spoil heaps, limestone scree and limestone pavements, and occasionally grows on sand and shingle on the coasts of southern England and Wales. The species shows a preference for sunny locations with fairly open vegetation and free-draining calcareous soils.